Where did the Paterson Revolver go?

They were probably discontinued because some of them had problems with the cylinder often binding up during shooting.
Why don't you like the Pietta version?
Maybe you can find an Uberti on Gunbroker if you search for one frequently enough.

Uberti discontinued the Paterson many years ago, slow sales is probably the reason. Pedersoli made a Paterson and it was very spendy, close to 1K. Pietta made two different versions of the Paterson and I'm not certain if they are still in production. Colt Blackpowder Arms made a 3rd gen Paterson, very hard to find and very expensive when you do, 2-3K.

Most of the Paterson replicas do not have a loading lever and require you to break the revolver down to re-load, most don't like doing that after a few cylinders have been fired.
The Paterson has many more parts than a typical BP revolver and really need an experienced shooter for good results.

The Paterson is one of my favorites but I have to admit I don't shoot it as much as I would like because of the extra work of cleaning.

Pair of Pietta's Paterson's. Say that three times!


Old counterfeit Paterson.








If you do find a Uberti Paterson remember it uses a proprietary nipple wrench that cost about $70. It's a four pin wrench, all others are two pin.

I've been looking for one for about 6 months. So when you find a car load of them be sure and post who's got 'em.

'Loose

Keep an eye on the Gunbroker, the Pietta's turn up occasionally.

While doing a search, you have to spell it PaTerson (correctly) and PaTTerson:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=171425504

pohill said:

While doing a search, you have to spell it PaTerson (correctly) and PaTTerson:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=171425504

Click to expand...

I'll check both spellings. I've done that for years on evil bay and other auction sites. Mis-spelled items do not get many views and may go at bargain prices. I wish there were more letters in Colt.

madcratebuilder said:

Keep an eye on the Gunbroker, the Pietta's turn up occasionally.

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Like this one: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=172005674

and this one: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=171965968

or this one: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=171425504

or this: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=171393230

or: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=171124054

The original Paterson rifle that Fingers McGee listed actually has a misspelling on the cylinder - PaTTerson - but it's a legit Colt.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=171393230

Madcratebuilder lists the things wrong with the Paterson repros. The same things that were said about the originals.

BTW, that 4-pin nipple wrench is a replica of the original, made for the 4-hole Paterson nipple. Blame Sam.

Jim

Don't know if you found what your looking for, here is link to Jedeiah Starr website for a Patterson they have. Never know it might be just what you want.
http://www.jedediah-starr.com/closeup.asp?cid=13&pid=362&offset=0

I have a Uberti Paterson new, and unfired in the presentation case, but with the wrong two pin nipple wrench, I need to find that four pin one someplace and Dixie tells me they are out. The revolver is a nice piece of work as is everything I have ever gotten from Uberti. Dixie was selling them back in '03 when I got this one, I do most of my shooting with the '60 army, so the Paterson has just been a display, but I do intend to shoot it one day if I ever find that dam wrench.

About a year ago Numrich listed a Paterson case, cleaning rod and loading tool on evil bay. It had been in unheated storage at one time and the metal parts showed it. I won the bid at about fifty bucks. I refinished the case and cleaning rod. The loading tool need to soak to get it unscrewed, it turned out to be the four pin that I was in need of. I ended up with a $300 accessory kit for $50 and some elbow grease. Now I need the Paterson flask and a 3rd gen to put in the case.

I have the Uberti with the loading lever as well as the one without. I would concur that they probably got tired of complaints about the glitdhy nature of these revolvers as it is necessary to fecundate with them quite a bit to get them to function. They also have three to four times the number of parts as a navy or later revolver- though I will say that I have had no broken parts with mine. They are great for the historical context but not what you would want as a primary shooting revolver

Paterson

mec,

Does your Uberti Patersons have 7 1/2" barrels? Also, do they have round back cylinders or square back cylinders?

Paterson

Madcratebuilder,

Do you have any literature, info, etc. on the Pedersoli made Paterson revolver? I have only seen one and it was the American Historical Foundation Commemorative Gold Paterson.

7.5' barrels and I would call the cylinder of the leverless model square backed and the later model more rounded
-see pictures, though I am not sure of the distinction.

Literature on the Patersons seems to be limited to a collection of articles on the Uberti Paterson over the years-several of which I wrote.
I contributed a great deal to this Wikipedia article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Paterson
before I got disgusted with the bird watchers and psychotics who infest that site. It appears that none of them have gotten to it and screwed it up yet. The great majority of the Patersons produced seem to have been of the Texas pattern-belt revolver sized, 36 caliber and with the 7.5" barrel. After the Walker was put into service, a military man named Johnson who mapped Indian trails leading from Mexico into Texas, deplored the large size of the Walker, recommending a return to the Paterson type which used round balls. His premise was that the conical (picket) bullets of the walker necessitated an overlarge pistol to support a sufficient powder charge and was much more difficult to load.
The Texas Navy bought a number of paterson revolving pistols, rifles and smooth bores passing on some of them to the rangers. There was an earlier limited purchase by the United States and the arms were used in the second Seminole War. Colt showed his appreciation by engraving later pistols with a naval scene commemorating the Battle of Compeche wherein the Texas navy defeated the Mexican naval force. The paterson was present at the Counsel House massecre and gained notice in the later Plum creek battles and a much publisized engagement by rangers under Jack Hayes wherein a few ranges routed a force of 75 or 80 Comanches. Hayes reporteded used the multi-shot paterson in a fight with Comanches at the Enchanted Rock near Kerrville holding off the raiders until his ranger/survey crew could join the battle. It was about 1842 when the levered revolvers reached the rangers and Hayes is reported to have been delighted that he could now reload without dismounting his horse. Early boxed revolvers sometimes contained a spare, extra long barrel (pictures, RL Wilson's Colt book).

Can madcratebuilder or anyone else give us any info about whether the Pietta Patterson model shoots and functions any good?
This would be the Pietta Texas Patterson with the 9 inch barrel unless Pietta made another version.

Like the one pictured below from Gunbroker and also in madcratebuilder's post:

I have the Pietta Paterson with the seperate loading lever. It's a great shooter - very accurate due to the length of the barrel. It jams worse than any gun I've ever owned due to fouling but a little spray of PAM on the cylinder pin and it just keeps on turning. Loading is pretty quick once you get a system going. Cap jams do not happen due to the recessed nipples.
The Paterson has something like 17 more parts than a Walker, so taking it down and putting it all back together the first few times can be a challenge.
If you buy one without the seperate loading lever, make sure it comes with the gun - they can be pricey and hard to find.

Cumpston and Bates provide an excellent review of the Uberti Paterson in their book, Percussion Pistols and Revolvers, History, Performance and Practical Use, starting on page 59.

the loading tool with my Uberti snapped in two the first time I used it. Pot metal. The originals had a tapered arbor and this could be used for a bullet seater. It works very well if you dont have the loading tool or a ball starter.

bprevolver said:

Madcratebuilder,

Do you have any literature, info, etc. on the Pedersoli made Paterson revolver? I have only seen one and it was the American Historical Foundation Commemorative Gold Paterson.

Click to expand...

No info at all. I have seen two or three on the web, if I see them again I'll e-mail you a link. I've seen that gold plated one before.

Can madcratebuilder or anyone else give us any info about whether the Pietta Patterson models shoot and function any good?
This would be the Pietta Texas Patterson with the 9 inch barrel unless Pietta made another version.

Click to expand...

The Paterson requires more attention to cleaning when loading. Keep the arbor lubed and the face of the cylinder clean and it's a good shooter. The loading of the cylinder in frame is more involved. This is one revolver that really benefits from a loading tool like the triple P.

I don't think field reloading was a big consideration back in 1836+ with these. It was the first time one fire arm gave the owner multiple shoots. My take from reading period literature is they simply shoot the revolver until empty and then went to another fire arm. I have read several things about gunsmiths offering "reloading of revolver" service. The revolvers would be cleaned, loaded and sealed. I don't think in field reloading was a common practice until the late 1840's with the release of the Walker with it's attached loading lever.

Paterson Revolver Pedersoli

I check with Mr. Beauchamp, Pedersoli Distributor, a year or so ago and was told that the Paterson used by American Historical Foundation for the Gold Commemorative was purchased by Pedersoli from another manufacturer and were not made by Pedersoli. So far no Patersons have ever surfaced with Pedersoli markings. This is the reason I was asking. It would be a great find if a Pedersoli marked Paterson surfaced.

bprevolver said:

I check with Mr. Beauchamp, Pedersoli Distributor, a year or so ago and was told that the Paterson used by American Historical Foundation for the Gold Commemorative was purchased by Pedersoli from another manufacturer and were not made by Pedersoli. So far no Patersons have ever surfaced with Pedersoli markings. This is the reason I was asking. It would be a great find if a Pedersoli marked Paterson surfaced.

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That would explain why we don't see any pedersoli's. It's a lot of tooling setup to produce a revolver, I would think they would want to make as many as they could.